Thursday, October 18, 2012

Ariana Spagna - Service Analysis 10/18

We
try to run our lives with, as smoothly as possible and with as few speed bumps
as we can, however, we seem to confront obstacles everyday. In order for us to thrive as the human beings
we were set out to be, our world needs stability, and unity. The reason why we have all of these social
issues, relationship issues, and economical issues, and political issues, is
because there is not enough stability in the world. The typical working person on an average day
encounters so much hustle bustle, that they do not have time to focus on the little
things that really matter in life. They
are constantly absorbed in their daily routine; they cannot focus on the things
that also require much attention. This
attention must also be given towards your family, friends, relationships, work
etc. If we create a manageable balance between
these priorities, the world and yourself will generally become a better
place. Without this stability, there
will be no progression in the world and we will just keep heading backwards.

Spending
my past Monday at the Acts4Youth program at Guilford Elementary for a few
hours, I figured it would be a typical Monday as always; seeing the kids
running in lot doing athletic training, throwing footballs, wrestling each
other a bit, then do homework, eat dinner, and be done with the day. Yet this Monday was not what I expected it to
be. Because of the rain, the athletic
training was cancelled and the kids were in their classrooms. I went to my designated classroom and saw
that the majority of the boys were playing UNO, laughing and having a great
time. Then I saw a few boys, who I
usually work with, sitting at a table of five, doing some math problems. I sat with the boys and questioned them as to
why they weren’t playing the card game with the other boys. They told me that they wanted to do their
homework so they could have the time to play at home and spend time with their
families. Hearing this answer from them
actually amazed me, because these fifth grade boys were spending their recess
doing homework, because they wanted to make time for their things to do at
home. When I was in fifth grade I didn’t
have any conception of balancing time and realizing how important that may
be. The idea of stability is stressed in
the classroom, along with many other important life traits, but seeing these
boys put this to use so efficiently and productively, made me so proud of
them. They already knew that this
quality was extremely imperative to their lives and this sincerely amazed me.

In
the poem Formula, by Langston Hughes,
he discusses his view on poetry. He
compares poetry to a bird, in a way, which makes much sense. A bird flies, flapping its wings, soaring
through the air. Every time I look up in
the sky and see a bird, I sometimes think how tranquil and easy life must be
for them. Everything always seems so free
– flowing and not having a care in the world.
Poetry, in comparison is the same as the life of a bird. Poetry allows us to express thoughts on paper
that we may not be comfortable sharing with others. Poetry can have rhyming, but sometimes there
does not need to be such structure, which is the beauty of it. Langston Hughes believes that poetry should
be a therapeutic way for us to disconnect from the chaos and heal us from our
unstable lifestyle. I also find that
many people read poetry, because it brings a sense of calmness and ease, which
is what most of us need after a long day of craziness, but we have a hard time
making time for.

In
Langston Hughes’ other poem, Old Walt,
he talks about the inspirational people in his life, which made him decide to
write. He describes how Walt Whitman is
seeking to find something. This can be
taken in many different ways, but I take it as a way when someone says that
they are trying to find themselves. This
poem relates to the essence of stability in a unique way, because every single
person in the world has a main goal of finding himself or herself, whether they
realize it or not. Some may not think of
this, but in order for you to become you, you must find the person that makes
you, you. Without allowing ourselves
time to find the things that describe us, we will have no true identity. In order to find time for figuring out who we
are, we need to create a stable lifestyle to achieve that.

In
the first half of the novel, Frankenstein,
by Mary Shelley, the main character Victor, goes through some rough times. Victor later had a moment and realized what
he wanted to do in his life. He was
forever in his room working on a project that would be his ultimate
creation. He put his mind, body, and soul;
into everything he was doing, contributing to this product, trying to make it
its complete best. Not realizing what no
sleep, eating, constant darkness, could do to him, he nearly died. He was so warped in this necessity of
creating something so divine, that he didn’t take care of himself and nearly
found himself on his death bed. Victor
made no time for the other things in his life and even stopped writing to his
family that he loved and whom loved him ever so dearly. This shows the problem of instability in Victor’s
life, because he didn’t allow himself to do anything else, but strictly focus
on his creation.

After
finding the comparison between all of these works and time of service, I have
realized that if you do not take the time to figure out what important parts of
your life are missing, you will forever be unstable. I know it is extremely
difficult to find time for everything, but if you find a little extra time for
certain things, you will find yourself to be an overall better person and have
a much more successful lifestyle.